Dice shaker



Sept. 23, 1969 v o. L. nova 3,468,543

DICE SHAKER Filed Aug. 18, 1967 I 40 5Q '3 5 M I mil|ll|lHHi"- 45 /Z/ INVENTOR ATTOZ/Vf/ United States Patent 3,468,543 DICE SHAKER Oral L. Dove, Dallas, Tex., assignor to Williams Industries Inc., Anaheim, Calif., a corporation of Texas Filed Aug. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 661,577 Int. Cl. A63f 9/04 U.S. Cl. 273-145 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dice shaker of the hopper type including a sectional hopper having portions swingable toward and away from each other, and swingable from a collapsed position on a generally horizontal plane within a box or housing to a generally upright position, with the hopper sections swung a limited distance away from each other through the medium of connections between the hopper sections and the housing cover when said cover is swung open.

This invention relates to a dice shaker, and more particularly to one of the hopper type wherein dice are dropped in the open top and rolled from a lower outlet, the hopper preferably being provided with means therein for tumbling the dice as they drop downwardly through the hopper.

One of the features of the invention is the provision of a collapsible hopper in sections which swing toward each other to a compact position and away from each other to provide a relatively wide upper hopper mouth, wherein the hopper is pivotally mounted in a generally horizontally disposed shallow box or housing, and wherein the housing is provided with a cover which, when swung open, will, through the medium of flexible or pivotal connections with the hopper, cause the hopper to swing from a collapsed horizontal position within the housing to an expanded generally upright operative position extending upwardly from the housing, and wherein the housing pro vides a playing surface upon which the dice are deposited when they drop through the housing.

The above and other objects will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in operative position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken approximately on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view through the device in its collapsed position.

There is shown a housing 4 which includes sides 6, a front wall 8 and a rear wall 10. A suitable bottom 12 is provided and it and the inner faces of the walls may be lined with felt or the like as in the case of conventional dice tables. Secured by a hinge 14 to the upper portion of the rear wall is a cover 16 which can be swung from the collapsed or closed position of FIG. 3 to the open position of FIGS. 1 and 2. The axis of this hinge is transverse to the housing 4.

The housing side walls 6 are thickened inwardly as at 18, and between said thickened portions is a dice shaking hopper, generally indicated at 20. The hopper includes a rearward section 22 and a forward section 24. The rearward section 22 is provided with side edge portions 26, and the forward portion 24 is provided with side edge portions 28, the latter lying in planes between the planes of the rearward side edge portions 26. The forward hopper section 24 is provided with a dice outlet opening 30 in its lower portion. On its upper inner face the forward hopper section 24 is provided with an angular horizontally disposed baffie 32, and another angular bafile 34 is located on the inner lower face of the rearward hopper sec- 3,468,543 Patented Sept. 23, 1969 ice tion 22. Thus when dice are dropped through the hopper when it is in the position of FIG. 2, they will be tumbled and ejected through the opening 30 onto the bottom 12 of the housing 4.

The side edge portions 26 and 28 of hopper sections 22 and 24 are mounted upon a pivot pin 36 whose ends are mounted in the thickened portions 18 of the housing side walls 6 so that the hopper sections 22 and 24 as a unit can swing from the position of FIG. 3 to that of FIG. 2 relative to the housing, and said hopper sections, or one of them can swing on the pivot pin 36 relative to the other hopper section.

A link 38 is pivotally connected at 40 to an intermediate under portion of the housing cover 16. Its other end carries a pin 42 which rides in a slot 44 in a link 46 which has one end pivotally connected at 48 to the forward hopper section 24. The pivot 42 is anchored to the rearward hopper section 22.

When the device is in the closed or collapsed position of FIG. 3 it can be set up for use merely by swinging the housing cover 16 upwardly to the position of FIG. 2. The rear hopper section 22 will begin to swing upwardly with the housing cover 16, and the link pivot 42 will ride upwardly in the slot 44 until it reaches the end thereof whereupon the forward hopper section 24 will begin to swing upwardly. The forward hopper section 24 is so mounted on the pivot pin 36 that when the parts are swung to the position of FIG. 2, said forward hopper section is unbalanced to maintain the angular position of FIG. 2, while the rearward hopper section 22 will be maintained in a generally upright position by means of the link 38 and cover 16 as well as by engagement of the lower outer face of the rearward hopper section 22 with the inner face of the rear housing section 10.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a dice shaker which can be collapsed to provide a compact attractive box which can of course be suitably ornamented on the outside if desired, and which can be quickly set up toan operative position merely by swinging the housing cover 16 upwardly to the positions of FIGS. 1 and 2. The relative movement of the rearward and forward hopper sections 22 and 24 permit the hopper to be collapsed when the housing cover is swung down, and at the same time, permit the upper portions of the hopper section to swing apart within limits provided by the linkage 38, 46 and link slot 44 so that adequate room is provided to drop dice into the hopper.

It should of course be understood that various changes can be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A dice shaker of the type comprising a hopper through which dice are dropped, wherein the improvement comprises: a housing shallow relative to its length, said housing having sides and a bottom, a cover hinged to said housing and swingable to open and closed positions, said hopper having an open top and having front and rear wall sections with pivotal connection means permitting them to swing toward and away from each other through limits about an axis parallel to that of said hinged cover, said front and rear wall sections having side edges overlapping, and the lower portion of said hopper having an outlet to discharge dice onto the bottom of the housing.

2. The structure in claim 1, and means supported in said hopper for tumbling dice as they drop through the housing.

3. The structure in claim 1, and said front and rear wall sections being mounted in said housing for pivotal movement relative thereto from a collapsed position within the housing to an operative upright position extending above the housing when its cover is open, and in said upright position at least the upper portion of said hopper, with the front and rear wall sections thereof swinging away from each other, being of greater width than the depth of said shallow housing.

4. The structure in claim 1, wherein said pivotal connection means includes a connection between the front and rear wall sections of said hopper limiting the swinging of one section away from the other.

5. The structure in claim 1, and one of said hopper front and rear wall sections being mounted relative to said pivotal connection means to swing under gravity to a position away from the other wall section when the hopper is swung to an upright position.

6. The structure in claim 1, wherein said pivotal connection means includes a connection between the hinged cover of said housing and said hopper to swing the hopper to an upright position when the hinged cover is swung open.

7. The structure in claim 1, wherein said pivotal connection means includes connecting means between said .4 housing cover and said hopper and between the front and rear wall sections of said hopper to swing the hopper to an upright position and one hopper wall section away from the other when the hinged cover of said housing is swung open.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 528,428 10/ 1894 Gregory 273-145 993,392 5/1911 Miller 273145 2,724,595 11/1955 Amann 273-145 FOREIGN PATENTS 124,095 8/1931 Austria. 748,980 4/ 1933 France.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner 20 ARNOLD W. KRAMER, Assistant Examiner 

